Guide
A paid fitting for one club costs $99.99 to $175 for a driver at the three national fitters we checked, and a full-bag fitting $299.99 to $475, prices read on 15 Oct. Some cost less or nothing: PGA TOUR Superstore runs free walk-in fittings, and Club Champion takes most of its fee off when you buy the clubs it fits, in an offer that runs to 15 Nov.
| Fitting | Club Champion | True Spec Golf | PGA TOUR Superstore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full bag | $400 $100 with a custom club purchase, to 15 Nov 3 hours | $475 at select locations | $299.99 3 hours |
| Driver | $175 $50 with a custom club purchase, to 15 Nov 90 min | $175 | $99.99 75 min |
| Irons and wedges | $175 $50 with a custom club purchase, to 15 Nov 90 min | $225 | $99.99 75 min |
| Fairway woods and hybrids | $125 $50 with a custom club purchase, to 15 Nov 1 hour | $175 | $59.99 45 min |
| Putter | $125 $50 with a custom club purchase, to 15 Nov 1 hour | $150 at select locations | $99.99 75 min |
| Wedges | $100 $50 with a custom club purchase, to 15 Nov 1 hour | $125 | $59.99 45 min |
Each fitter's own price page, read on 15 Oct. Fitting prices vary by session type and location. True Spec also sells combined fittings (driver and iron, all the woods); Club Champion a long-game fitting of driver, woods and hybrids.
PGA TOUR Superstore's Fit & Go and Express Bay fittings are free, in store and need no appointment. Fit & Go covers Callaway, TaylorMade and Titleist drivers, and where the store has your head and shaft in stock you leave with the driver the same day. A free fitting uses the clubs on hand; the paid STUDIO fitting adds a private bay, a launch monitor and a wider choice of heads and shafts.
Club Champion charges less when you buy: $100 instead of $400 for a full bag, and $50 instead of $175 for a driver, when you order the custom clubs it fits at the fitting. It is a promotion, for fittings booked and completed by 15 Nov at its US stores, with the promo code it gives you when you book.
Bring your own clubs, golf shoes and a glove. The fitting guide for beginners lists what to ask, and our length chart, lie angle guide and grip size chart explain the numbers on the sheet.
It can be, because the clubs that suit a slower or less repeatable swing are not the ones on most shop racks: a softer flex, a lighter shaft, more loft, a flatter or more upright lie. PGA TOUR Superstore's own view is that mid-to-high handicappers often benefit most. Two cautions. A golfer in their first months may change their swing quickly, and PGA TOUR Superstore suggests a few lessons first. And a boxed beginner set has few options to fit, so a free fitting or a set chosen by its contents can be enough.
From 45 minutes to an hour and a half for one club, and two and a half to three hours for a full bag, at the fitters that list a time.
No. The fee pays for the fitting and the specification. Club Champion's lower offer prices apply only if you buy the clubs from it at the fitting.
If the driver is the club you miss most, start there. Club Champion's own advice is to get fit for your lowest-performing club first and build the bag over time.
Every forgiving iron set scored and compared, with picks for slicers, slow swings, seniors and budgets.
The most forgiving head in each maker's line, scored, with the draw models for a slice and picks for slow swings and budgets.
Fairway woods with the shallow faces and low centres of gravity that get the ball up off the deck.
The hybrids built to replace long irons, with lofts, flexes, hands and price.
The smaller driver heads between a driver and a 3-wood, by head size, lofts and draw setting, each price dated.
Driving irons compared for forgiveness, lofts and hands, and when a hybrid is the better club.
Compare cavity-back wedge lofts, bounce, sole options and hands.
Mallets and zero-torque putters scored, with lengths, hands and price, and a pick for each kind of miss.
Callaway's forgiving iron line, set against each other on offset, sole, loft, flexes and price.
What a first set needs, a boxed set against a built set at the same money, and the picks by budget.
Every complete boxed set scored, with its club list, flexes, hands and price, and a pick for seniors, women and budgets.
The second set: what to buy when a boxed set stops being enough, without paying for clubs you cannot use yet.
Choose a replacement by bag role and check it against the clubs you keep.
Game improvement and players distance sets for a 10 to 20 handicap, scored and priced.
Every driver with draw help, by how much it gives, its lofts and its price.
Forgiving heads with 12° in stock and draw help for a slice, for beginners and high handicappers, each price dated.
Forgiving mallets and zero-torque heads by price, stock length and hand, for a first putter, each price dated.
Every club sold with a stock senior (A) flex or as a senior set, and what senior flex actually changes.
The forgiving drivers sold in senior flex, by slow-swing help, loft and draw help, each price dated.
The forgiving iron sets sold in senior flex, by launch, sole and forgiveness, each price dated.
Women's lines and ladies-flex options, complete sets and individual clubs, with a pick for each.
The forgiving iron sets sold as a women's line or in ladies flex, with each 7-iron's loft and length, each price dated.
The forgiving drivers made for women or sold in ladies flex, by draw help, loft and price, each price dated.
The women's sets sold shorter, by how much, and the heights each maker names, each price dated.
The men's sets sold longer, by how much, and the heights each maker names, each price dated.
Every maker's junior sets by the child's height band, with what is in each box and its price, each checked.
The most forgiving club of each type sold left-handed, and the ones that are not.
Forgiving iron sets for less, new, earlier and used, every price per club and dated.
Forgiving drivers for less: current heads at low prices, last year's still sold new, and used, each price dated.
Check the exact used configuration, condition, contents and return terms.
Every forgiving driver with a used price beside the new one, current and earlier models, each listing dated.
Every forgiving fairway wood and hybrid with a used price beside the new one, and each listing's club, loft, flex, condition and date.
Every forgiving iron set with a used price, current and earlier models, with the clubs, shaft and flex each price buys.
Forgiving clubs below the maker's list price, last year's models still sold new, and used savings, each price with the day we checked it.
The price to beat for the most forgiving club of each type, so you can tell a real Black Friday deal.
Loft ranges from the driver to the lob wedge, then every forgiving iron set's lofts, current and earlier, in one sortable chart.
Even loft steps from your longest club to your wedges, each set's uneven steps, and how to check them with your own distances.
The 14-club rule in plain words, what a first bag of eight to ten needs, and how many clubs each boxed set really holds.
Every iron set's pitching, gap, sand and lob wedge lofts in one chart, and the names makers give the gap wedge.
What a gap, sand and lob wedge is for, and which lofts to add after your own set.
What bounce does, drawn to the angle, which bounce suits your swing and turf, and the bounce on every forgiving wedge we cover.
The loft, length and bounce between the two in every forgiving set, and which one to hit.
Which hybrid replaces which long iron in each set, by the makers' own lofts, and when a hybrid is the easier club.
Which wood matches which hybrid by loft, which to carry, and every maker's stock lofts side by side.
Offset, sole width, moment of inertia and loft explained with the numbers from this site's own table.
What separates the two classes in loft, offset, sole and price, with every set in each, and how to tell which one your strike needs.
Why a cavity back forgives and a muscle back does not, with the makers' own offset figures, and how to blend the two.
What the A flex changes, who it suits, and which clubs we cover offer it as stock.
Each shaft maker's own swing speed for every flex, side by side, and the flex each chart gives at your speed.
Driver shafts for a slower swing, more height or a mid flight, with each one's weight, torque and flexes from its maker, and the stock shafts on every forgiving driver.
What a graphite or steel shaft changes, who each suits, and every forgiving iron set's stock shafts.
Prepare your shortlist and check length, lie, shafts and set makeup at a fitting.
Every iron set's standard lengths as its maker prints them, and a calculator that adds the change a fitter gives you.
Every iron built to one length: Cobra's ONE Length sets against its standard sets, club by club, and who still makes one.
Every forgiving driver's stock length from its maker, men's, women's and mini, why two makers' figures can differ, and when shorter helps.
What a wrong lie does to your shots, how to check yours, and every forgiving iron set's lie angles club by club.
What each PING dot color means, and every PING iron set's lie angles for the dot you have.
Your grip size from your hand length or glove size, on Golf Pride's and Winn's own charts, with the feel test and PING's grip colors.
The right grip for sore hands, sweaty hands or an all-round feel, with every grip's sizes and weights from its maker.
Pistol, parallel, flat-front and claw putter grips in their makers' words, their weights and prices, and the stock grip on each putter we cover.
Which forgives more, which suits your stroke, a six-foot test for your misses, and the mallets we cover.
What length putter you need, checked from your own setup rather than your height, and the stock lengths of every putter we cover.
What a zero-torque putter does, the balance test, who it suits, and how each maker builds one.
When grips and wedge grooves wear out, by the makers' own advice, what a regrip costs, and when a new club is worth it.
Irons, woods, grips and grooves cleaned the right way, the grip care Golf Pride advises, and how to store clubs over winter.
Golf Pride's ten steps with a hook blade, tape and solvent, sizing a grip up with tape, and what a shop charges.
